The cursed comb
by ghost princess Perona
Summary: Cleaning his clan s storage, Hashirama found something he gifted Madara as a token of love. Little did he knew that the thing was cursed and there was a whole history behind it, a history of blood and war... and of love too. But now a vengeful spirit is taking hold of him and threatening everything he held dear... inside of him. Would he be saved on time? HASHIMADA.


Hello! I was trying to gain some inspiration to continue some of my fics, but the only thing that came to my mind was this, so I turned it into a one shot for you all! Hope you like it!

Naruto is not mine

"Why did I have to do the cleaning? Sheesh" Hashirama coughed before putting the duster away. It was springtime in Konoha and the biggest compounds in the village were cleaning their storages. Now, cleaning the place ancient heirloom was kept was usually a tough job, something everyone wanted to avoid so they voted for the unfortunate person that this year will spend a week cramped inside a dusty place, surrounded by scrolls and boxes until they shine. And this year´s elected victim was… (music) the poor Hokage. Hum, he was still convinced that it was a plot against him concocted by his brother, for much Tobirama deny it, he still liked his time alone in the power chair, mostly because he knew his irresponsible brother can`t screw up.

"Have you finished?" Tokka asked, staying outside the door. It has been just a few hours since he began, but he used clones for the first three, so at least today`s work was going to be done.

"Nearly done with the dusting" he answered, knowing that once the first part was done he was allowed to take a break for lunch. He moved to the next shelf, the last one, and started dusting it. Accidentally, he knocked some kind of mini shelf off, which landed with a tuddd. He panicked for a second, grabbing it. When he did that, two doors opened and a little box felt to the ground. The fuinjutsu chain around it really confused him, but, lacking the good judgment of his younger brother, he broke the chain and opened the box. Inside was… a comb.

"Hashirama nii-san, have you finished yet?" the voice of his cousin made him jump. She clearly didn`t want to stay there babysitting him. He quickly dusted the last shelf and looked at the comb. It was very rare for an ancient heritage of the Senju clan. Normally they were adorned by leaves or nature related things, like water and flowers… not this one. The main ornament was a fire phoenix and it had delicate feathers around it. "Nii-san!"

"Yes, yes, I´m coming!" he got out, the comb still in his hands. Surprisingly, it seemed… familiar. Like it was carved by himself… for someone. He reached the kunoichi, who simply got off the wall. "Hey, look what I found."

"It´s pretty… but it doesn´t seem very Senju" she frowned. "Are you sure you found it in our storage?"

"Yes, it was inside a box in a mini shelf over there" he signaled.

"Well, I guess it was a gift" she walked away. He followed her, knowing exactly what to do with the comb. It was a nice… "Why don´t you give it to Mito? I´m sure she will appreciate the gesture."

"Hummmm" Hashirama looked down. He knew that everyone in the village expected from him a proposal to the Uzumaki princess, even said girl. Mito, his second cousin, granddaughter of Ashina Uzumaki, was in love with him since they were little and played together in his yearly visits to Uzushiogakure, but he couldn´t reciprocate. It was… he already loved someone else. And she was more like a little sister. "Tokka, I´m not going to do it, no matter how much Ashina-sama extends her visit. I´m already in love with someone else."

"Hummmm, perhaps you should give it to him then" she answered. Her natural tone surprised him. "Look, nii-san… I´m not blind. I know that you love him, only a person madly in love could take his own life for another. I´m just worried that… he doesn´t feel the same and will hurt you."

"Well, there is only a way to find out" he said next, looking from the restaurant door to the person that was coming their way. "Hey, Madara!"

"What?" the Uchiha answered rudely, looking at him. He didn´t want to face him now, not with that butterflies in the stomach sensation he always got when seeing him after the suicide attempt he stopped. The Hokage walked to him with a smile that could melt a yukiton, making blood rush to his face. "Wh… what do you want?"

"Just talking to you in private for a moment" he took him away, towards the riverside. The raven followed, being good for the time being. "How is Izuna?" he surprisingly asked. "I heard he is getting better from his injury and training again."

"Against my wishes, because I told him to rest for a few weeks more" he answered, feeling like dragging his little brother back to bed. "Well, you did a good job healing him" the Uchiha lowered his head. "T… thank you"

"You are welcome" he gripped the comb in his pocket. "I have something for you"

"Hummmm, but it´s not my…" the brunette got the comb out and put it in his hair, keeping it from falling on his face. For a second they made completely silent, feeling this awfully familiar. They could even see faces… faces that were not the other´s but somewhat familiar… "I thought you might like something like that. It will keep your hair out of your eye"

"I… I like this hairstyle."

"But you shouldn´t hide one eye, they are both beautiful" Madara flustered crimson. He could almost feel his knees giving up on him when Tokka appeared with some take out from the restaurant.

"Hashirama-niisan! Eat now or starve for the rest of the day, because you are returning in ten minutes to the storage!" she threw him his food.

"Sto… oh!" the Uchiha recovered his usual smug smile. "So you are this year´s victim?" he crossed his arms. "How did the mighty Hokage ended up being the cleaning maid of his clan?"

"With some help from my dear brother, who I´m going to punish after this" he shook his head. The other´s smile widened, which his friend took as a promise to help with that. "Do you want to eat with me?"

"No, I already ate" he excused himself before he made a fool of himself in front of his friend. He walked away, directly to the compound. He found himself more than smitten with the gift, to the point of nearly passing his own clan´s storage if was not for the victim of that year stepping outside the place.

"Please… help me" Hikaku said with a very bad allergic reaction to dust. Madara just signaled the inside and he was going to obey before he saw the thing in his hair. "What is that?"

"This? Oh, it´s a little thing Hashirama gave me" suddenly it was snatched from his hair. "Hey!"

"It looks antique" he commented. "Like a family heirloom" he got inside and, surprisingly, Madara followed. The appointed maid pulled something off the recently dusted shelves and showed him. It was another comb. "Yes, I was right" he compared them. "It´s a handmade wood comb from nearly two centuries ago."

"Two… and he really gave it to me?"

"Well, apparently you are now the proud owner of an antique Senju comb… even if it doesn´t look much like a Senju thing" he frowned, looking at the fire ornate Uchiha comb. "Can I make some comparisons if you like."

"You should do it" the clan head was now feeling bad. "Perhaps I should give it back"

"After I finished with it… and my work" he sighed, returning to his dusting. Madara left… only to return a few hours later when the roof of the storage, a practically new roof, nearly collapsed over the other Uchiha´s head. At least nothing was damaged, specially the ancient comb that was on a shelf. He grabbed it before leaving.

"Will I have to repair the roof too?" asked a crying Hikaku.

"Yes"

"That I feared"

-Later-

"Someone else took my place" Tokka entered to the Hokage office, where Tobirama was doing paperwork his brother neglected. Really, this was the reason he set up Hashirama to be the cleaning slave this year, or nothing of this would be done. "Do you know Hashi-niisan found something in a sealed box hidden in a mini shelf this morning?"

"A sealed box?" this was a surprise. Only jutsus or something like that was ever kept in a sealed box. "Was it some kind of ancient jutsu or…?"

"No, it was a comb" it rang alarm bells in his head.

"Like this big" he made a signal with his fingers. "ancient, with a phoenix carved?" she nodded. "It´s the cursed comb"

"Cursed… comb?"

"Yes" he got up. "It´s an antique comb made by a half-breed by the name of Hotaru Senju, half-brother to Mikihisa Senju"

"The famous Suiton user?"

"Yes, that one" Tobirama, who studied the scrolls from Mikihisa, practically the creator of Suiton, answered without falter. "The thing is that Hotaru turned against our clan, being the oldest half-breed that lived in those times… you know the Senjus in that era could be quite xenophobic" she nodded. "and when he died they found that comb in his pocket. Mikihisa gave it to his wife, who died in an horrible accident a day later. He kept it the night he was mourning her and there was a fire that…"

"Get to the point"

"The legend says that Hotaru cursed his creation with his last breath with all the hatred in his hearth and whoever possesses his comb will die a horrible death. That´s why the ancients sealed it into a box and hid it."

"Oh, for the Sage" she got up, suddenly fearful. "Hashirama gave it to Madara-sama. I have to ask him to give it back…"

"Why the hurry?" now that he was sure that his brother was safe and the cursed artifact in the hands of someone he despised, he didn´t felt the need to act. "Give it a few days, then we can do something like… resealing it. I can ask Mito to do it."

"Tobi nii-san…"

"What? It´s for his own good… and that of the village" he continued to do his paperwork, smiling with delight when he heard that the Uchiha´s storage gave up. Unfortunately for him, the appointed victim wasn´t in the place when the accident happened. He will wait for it a whole night… this was going to be so good…

-A week later-

"Why is it not working?!" Tobirama was going nuts. It has been a week since Madara received the supposed cursed comb and nothing remotely lethal happened to him. Tokka looked at him in annoyance. It was a legend, for good´s sake. There was no guarantee that it worked.

"Perhaps all about the cursed comb is just a tale" she said, doing her part of the work. "I´m more worried about Hashi-nii. He has not been himself since he found that thing."

"Well, at least he is away from it" Tokka was not so sure. For his part, the Hokage was going to a Yamanaka for a mental inspection. Since he found that comb he has been having some strange dreams, so vivid that they almost seem like… memories. Memories of his past. Inoki Yamanaka received him, being a novice in the mental health department but proficient enough to threat someone.

"Hokage-sama!" he received him in the consult. "What an honor… are you here for a revision?"

"More like a consult" the brunette admitted. "I will be grateful if you… keep this to us" he nodded, knowing how important was doctor patient confidentiality. "I have been having some strange dreams and… I would call them flashbacks but I know that I have never set a foot in the places I see…"

"Well, it can be something easy as an over active imagination, but… let´s take a look" he made some hand signs and submerged himself on that mind. At first he was sure that nothing was wrong and then he found it… a fissure that somehow formed in his leader´s mind and was leaking something… like hate. A brutal hate and… sadness… heartbroken sadness. The Yamanaka touched it and some memories ran through his head. He didn´t have time to seal it, because the fissure suddenly expanded and enveloped everything, expelling him from the mind. There was only two words he could here… Hotaru Senju.

"Hokage-sama…" he looked at the man, ready to attack. He wasn´t the same as before, not anymore. "Whoever you are, stay where you are"

"I saw it… how much have they grown… disgusting" he got up. "Don't worry, it´s fine"

"No, you are not, you are not even Hokage-sama" he was ready to strike him unconscious. He grabbed a needle of sedative he had in his desk and dashed towards him. A Suiton got in the way, propelling him towards the wall

"I said I was fine!" he yelled, knocking the air out of his lungs, but he refused to give up. The man escaped and started to attack the village with powerful Suiton techniques. The Yamanaka followed. He was the only person that knew who he really was and what he could do. He was the only one that knew those memories…

"HASHIRAMA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Tobirama was fighting his own brother when Inoki found them. The albino tried to knock him out to no avail. Was he trying to impress Madara or what? "You better stop, aniya, because…"

"Tobirama-sama!" he yelled when he arrived to the place. "He is not Hashirama-sama!"

"What?"

"He is Hotaru! Hotaru Senju!" the brunette did nothing to deny that. "Look, I know… you probably had a good reason to be angry with your clan" he coughed. "I saw your memories, those incredible Suiton, those techniques… they were yours, not Mikihisa´s!" this struck the albino. What the… "I know your half-brother stole your job and then beat you near to death. Your clan wouldn´t believe that a half-breed was such an amazing shinobi… the most powerful… Mikihisa robbed you even of that. He took the credit for all you did…"

"If you know that… are you going to deny me my revenge too?" he asked. "The Senju were never nice to me, why should I even forgive them?" he made some other hand signs. "I have to kill them… every last of them… and after the Senjus will follow the Uchihas… I will exterminate them too!"

"I don´t know if this one is too little or too much Senju" Tobirama commented, making hand signs. The battle progressed, badly for the albino. Tobirama didn´t want to admit it, but it could very well be true what Hotaru claimed about his brother. The Suiton he used… amazing would be the least it could be called. In the middle of the battle, Madara broke in, surprisingly saving the albino´s live.

"Hashirama, stop whatever you are doing…"

"Are… are you…?" the brunette seemed to lose his words. Inoki used that moment to try and do a reverse jutsu, but Hotaru reacted just in time to avoid it, disappearing immediately. The only thing he left in the air was the sensation that his chakra changed dramatically in the presence of the Uchiha leader.

"Can someone tell me what the hell was going on here?" asked Madara, looking at the Yamanaka with suspicion.

"That´s what I want to know too" the boy sighed and, after requesting the help of his clan head, he returned to the hospital with Tobirama, Madara, Tokka and surprisingly Mito, who was a witness of the disaster. Inori Yamanaka was briefly conferenced with her kin and then went towards them, who were waiting. She put a tea in front of each of them then sat down and sighed.

"I supposed there is no way around it" the Yamanaka clan leader lowered her head. "Inoki here just told me that Hashirama-sama went to him asking for some mental care" Madara and Tobirama looked equally concerned. "Apparently, since the cleaning day… no, since he found that cursed comb, something inside of him woke up. It caused some kind of… fissure in his mind, one… that brought for the conscience of Hotaru Senju."

"So… it´s a possession by the ghost haunting the comb?" asked Tobirama, raising an eyebrow. He didn´t believe in ghosts, but after seeing his brother magically turned into a Suiton master…

"No, it´s something even worse" Inori grabbed her tea cup. "Are you familiar with the concept of reincarnation?" Mito opened her eyes wide. "Of course you are, so I´m not explaining it in depths, but… let´s say that two people can share the same soul, just that they are in different points of time. And, in some cases, when a person comes across an item of a past lifetime, it can bring forward memories of it." She lifted the comb Madara was so kind to bring with him. "In this case, this comb caused the problem."

"So… Hotaru and Hashirama have the same soul… because he found something he made in his life as him?" Tobirama said, twisting his face. "But, how come Hashirama is so happy go lucky and Hotaru seemed to be… just the opposite?"

"Some traits are conserved, others no" the Yamanaka leader explained. "Perhaps the personality ones are the hardest to conserve, as the environment is a main factor in their development. Hotaru was born in a time when his kind was looked down on and Hashirama, while he was often admonished harshly by his father, was never truly mistreated as harsh as half lings were."

"But what the hell happened here?" the Uchiha leader asked, looking at the cursed phoenix comb. He didn´t want to say anything, but since he received the thing he has been having disturbing dreams. Dreams of a Valley full of fumes and water so hot it boiled bodies alive, of throwing a group of people there and… darkness. Then a figure, a figure that always seemed to soothe him in those dreams… with Hashirama´s smile. He grabbed his hands, even in the absolute darkness of some of his worst dreams, and gave him security. And then he said: only us two together against the world. Then the feeling of soft wood on his hair.

"I can´t say for sure… but…" Inori´s fingers clutched tightly the cup. "The emotional bond between the comb and the carver was too big and somehow woke up more than just memories. And the examination of Inoki… it wasn´t his fault, he didn´t know what was happening inside of the Hokage´s head… but in this cases using a mind jutsu is a bad idea, as it can make the ancient conscience react violently and take control of the new body…"

"Great" muttered the albino, crossing his arms. "How do we stop him?"

"The Yamanaka clan is used to deal with all kind of mental situations due to our jutsus and we have one that would work wonders on Hashirama-sama" they nodded. "But first… we have to know more about Hotaru. How to attract him to a trap and hold him enough time to perform the jutsus."

"Perhaps… I think… I…" Madara didn´t know how to explain it, but since Hashirama´s past live gave him that look in the middle of the battle, the visions became more frequent. And there was also longing… for him. "I think he is searching for the comb itself. Maybe we can use it to attract him."

"Thank you for saying the obvious, Uchiha" the white haired Senju told him, sneering at him. "Of course he is searching for this, he surely made this for his lover or a lady he fancied but was unobtainable for him" he frowned, picking it up. "This kind of things were commonly made by half lings inside the Senju and Uzumaki clans."

"And how could I know? I have never been interested in your customs" they looked away from each other. Mito coughed a bit, catching their attention before an internal war can be broken.

"I want to see the place this object was sealed" asked the redhead, worried. "Sealed object usually are hidden alongside some explanation of their histories. I´m sure we can learn more about the curse searching that place."

"I will see that Tokka takes you to that place" answered Tobirama, still trying not to look at his hated enemy. Soon they were all moving, with Mito researching around the storage alongside Tokka. She opened a great wardrobe, full of antique scrolls that seemed full of jutsus, water jutsus. All of them had Mikihisa´s name on them, but for the first time she noticed the handwriting of the author of the jutsu itself didn´t match the one of the supposed author. She frowned, as everything pointed out Inoki was telling the truth about Mikihisa and Hotaru.

"I found it" the brunette suddenly said, pulling a mini shelf from the top of the wardrobe. Both women searched around it. The older one soon gave out, as she could not find anything. "Empty. Hotaru must have stolen the contents."

"No" Mito caressed one of the edges, were some writings can be seen. "There is a seal in here. And I think someone put them in there specially to hide something." She made some hand signs, undoing the sealings. Soon, two scrolls appeared. One looked very official and the other… the other seemed to have been sealed after the previous one. As if someone had opened the seal and put it back in there. "This is interesting"

"I guess" both women opened the scrolls. One detailed the history of Hotaru in an official matter, the other… the other seemed much more sincere. And it was signed by a certain Myu Uzumaki, a half ling daughter of an ancestor of the princess. Apparently she grew up together with Hotaru and was a good friend of his… even seemed a bit in love with him, just like Mito with Hashirama. "What did you find?"

"A lot of things" she bit her lips. How could this… "We have to get Madara-sama, quickly"

"Why? I know he has the comb, but I doubt…"

"The comb is not the only thing that attracts Hotaru, Madara-sama too" she lifted the paper. "This says that Hotaru made the comb for a Uchiha clan leader that was his best friend. He went by the name… Raizo the Impaller."

-In another place-

"I don´t know why this thing also affects me" Madara lifted the thing, feeling a little bit sleepy. Tobirama and him argued about the trap, then he left in a rage with the comb. He felt so enraged… so much that some disturbing images danced through his mind for a second. Then he ran, frightened by the images. His eyes closed for a moment and through his mind went a series of horrible images and a flash of pain, a sharp stab of betrayal, nearly knocked him to the floor.

"Don´t worry, you don´t have to fear them anymore" his eyes opened fast when he heard Hashirama´s voice so near him. No, not Hashirama. Hotaru´s voice for now. The man grabbed his hand. "I see you recovered your eyes… but now you are hiding one of them" he grabbed the comb, softly positioning it in his hair. "They are both as beautiful as I remembered"

"Stay away from…" his body was practically paralyzed. Somehow he couldn´t fight him despite knowing that he was strong enough to defeat him. "I don´t know who you are talking about, but it´s…"

"Raizo, we are back together" Hotaru pulled him against his chest, making his face go red as a cherry. "We, two misfits the others think should have never been born, together against the world. Don´t you remember that?"

"I…" yes, he somehow remembered. He remembered a lot of things related to Hotaru, the comb, the betrayal… and Raizo. In all those visions, his name was Raizo. Even in the one where… Hotaru gave him that hand carved comb specially for him. Even so… "I don´t know what you are talking about and seriously don´t care, so why don´t you…"

"There he is!" Tobirama and Mito irrupted in his home at the same time, one of them using her chains to try and capture him. Unfortunately, the man dodged and activated one of his jutsus, practically vanishing into thin air. Madara broke the genjutsu, but it was too late. He was gone. "He came, just like you said" the albino looked around the place. "How did you know?"

"Come with me, I will explain" the princess said with a worried face. Once they were all reunited, she pulled out the two pieces of paper. "We found this in the shelf the comb was in. one of it contains the official history" she extended it. "Apparently, the comb was in the tomb of an Uchiha clan leader they found and opened. They wanted to parade the body in front of the other clans and stole it, the only valuable thing, from the tomb… bit then calamity stoke them. Whoever had the dammed comb died a gruesome death. Finally, the Senju clan head and council returned the body to the tomb, along with the comb and also put Hotaru´s body and his belonging in there with them, sealing the tomb and promising never to open a tomb like that ever again… to let the dead rest in peace."

"Why Hotaru?"

"Apparently, they knew he was the carver of the comb and he had a special connection with the Uchiha, so they were no sure whose anger was following them" she lowered her head. "Anyway, the curse let to an Uchiha and a Senju sharing a tomb… and the comb never rested. It continue to appear and haunt them."

"So they sealed it, finishing the course for good" Tobirama frowned. "And the other?"

"Yes, but… the connection was deeper than they thought" she extended the other scroll. "This is the history written by a Half ling Uzumaki that knew Hotaru well." She bit her lip. "The Uchiha clan leader´s name was Raizo…"

"The Impaller?" Madara asked, surprised. Raizo was not among the most popular clan heads of their history. And his death… it was something no one ever wanted to experience. He just hoped no one asked the question…

"Who is Raizo the Impaller?" and the albino just had to ask the question.

"Raizo the Impaller was an Uchiha clan leader famous for his cruelty and insanity back in the worst part of the War Clans Era. He… had a perk for putting his enemies into big stakes and…" he couldn´t continue, because he could practically see the image in front of his eyes. And if he was right in what he was thinking… well… "He did not achieve the level of cruelty Shinobu the red miracle did, but he was as despised as him… and… he died a gruesome death… betrayed by the clan" all the looks were telling him to continue. "It happened during the Chinoike banishment. They had just finished moving the clan to their cursed valley… and attacked him. Ripped out his eyes, beat him… left him with the hateful Chinoike to die."

"Hummmmm, a fitting end for a disgusting character" commented the Senju. "And now that you mention him, I remember something of the sort. An Uchiha called Raizo sadistically whipped Mikihisa and left him hanging from a tree once. His back… he left it scarred for life."

"Yes, that was Raizo" Mito grabbed the second scroll again. "The thing is… according to this, Raizo didn't die because of the Chinoike clan. He was… he was Hotaru´s closest relation, even closer than his own brothers… ahhhh… I don´t know how to tell you, but Raizo was also Hotaru´s lover"

"His… lover?"

"That happened after… see, this explains the history" the redhead pointed the written text. "Hotaru and Raizo were outcasts from their clans, since the very beginning of their lives. One was a half ling, the other a sickly child that the Uchihas rejected. They only gained strength later in live, but they always remembered that the only person that was on their side, in good or bad situations, was the other" it sounded suspiciously like marriage, was the only thing Tobirama could think about. "Well… the thing is… Hotaru somehow knew what the Uchiha were planning to do and rushed to save his friend. According to Myu Uzumaki, he didn´t arrive in time to stop the betrayal, but managed to save him from the Chinoike and took him to an abandoned house, where he could take care of him. It was in the middle of the woods, hidden from the world."

"Really?" Madara asked, even if he knew exactly what happened there. His dreams showed him. "What happened there?"

"What young love knows best" Mito stared at him, like she knew he knew. "What happened next is what really should interest us. Hotaru promised Raizo to recover the eyes that were stolen by his clansmen, but while he was away… a fight between the Senju and the Uchiha clans broke up near. And when he went back, Raizo was dying. He got caught in the middle of the battle. Up until now, no one knew how he really died. If he was killed by Senju or by Uchiha men" she grabbed the comb, which was also brought. "The only thing sure is that Hotaru cursed both clans with his rage, swearing to kill them all, and, even in death, his curse is still alive in the comb he made specifically for his lover"

"And that´s why it claimed so many lives" Tobirama looked at the carefully carved phoenix. "It doesn´t explain how you were so sure Hotaru would be with that one" he rudely pointed his finger to Madara. "could it be that he resembles his dear vampire?"

"It could very well be" answered the Uchiha. "I´m a direct descendant of his…"

"It´s even more than that" the Uzumaki stared at him, effectively shutting the men up. "He said your chakra felt the same. And Hashirama-sama´s chakra stayed the same despite his body being in control of Hotaru" she said. "Apparently, chakra doesn´t change, no matter the life you are currently living."

"So… you mean…"

"Yes, I think you are Raizo´s reincarnation" Mito said. "It explains how you were able to connect almost instantly with Hashirama-sama in the past. The bond between your souls was so strong it transcended death. It also explains the obsession he has with you. For him, you are his second chance of happiness."

"How are you so sure?"

"I´m not" but you are, she kept quiet. Even if he denied it, there was something in his gaze while he listened to the history that told her that he knew exactly what she was talking about without listening to the history. "There is only a way to be sure… the trap"

"What are you planning?" Tobirama asked.

"Well…"

-In the night-

"I thought I would find you here" the man in Hashirama´s body, approaching without care. "So many memories… this was the place we first met. In another time, in another life" Madara glared at him. He didn´t like this plan, especially because he didn´t get to fight. "What´s the matter? You are usually on a better mood when we are alone."

"Whoever you have known, I am not the same person" he said, trying to keep his distances. "Even if I have the same chakra or even the same soul, I´m not Raizo Uchiha and hopefully I will never be" his Sharingan activated as he tried to pull him into a genjutsu, but failed. Hotaru, having fought against the Uchihas all his life, got some distance between them. That was the moment the others got out. "It´s over, you can´t with all"

"Why do you do this?" pain was obvious in those words. But despite this and the obvious inferiority in number, Hotaru proved to be a wonderful enemy. He was in match with Tobirama´s Suiton and speed, Madara´s ability in genjutsu and Mito´s knowledge on the arts of sealing. Susanoo was needed to corner him, after leaving the earth scarred by a blow of it. "Raizo…"

"Raizo is not here anymore" finally, after a great battle of hours, Hotaru was grabbed by a Susanoo hand and Mito´s chains curled around him, securing him to the place. Inori Yamanaka appeared in that moment, her hands glowing a bit with chakra. "Do it now!"

"We promised! Always together! In this life or in the other! Always us two! Together against the whole world! Why are you doing this?! We should have always been together!" the Yamanaka woman put her hands on his head, fighting to close the fissure that allowed Hotaru to stay there. Soon the body slumped on the floor, completely motionless.

"Well… I think we should take him back to the village" suggested the fallen man´s brother. "And tie him up in case he is still Hotaru."

"Somehow I doubt it" the next morning, Hashirama woke up without anything… with a headache, but with anything else. After asking what happened in the days he didn´t remember at all, yelling at his brother, friend and cousins for answers and receiving them, they all parted from the Hokage´s office to see the resealing of the comb. For the brunette, it was also the first time he heard about the history.

"What a beautiful love history" the Shodaime said as the Uzumaki put the scrolls and the comb in the same mini shelf he found them in. "And that they found each other… in that live and in the other" he took Madara´s hand on his, to which the Uchiha answered taking it back and getting out of the room. "What´s the matter with him?" he asked before following the raven. Tobirama tried to stop him, but Mito stopped HIM.

"That´s a bond you can´t sever, no matter how much you want" the redhead said, letting his love go. After all, it was for the best. "It´s a bond so deep their souls found the way through death and back towards each other. Do you really think you could sever something that not even death could?"

"It´s only… I´m worried about that"

"Don´t be like that, I´m sure you will get over it" and she was sure that Hotaru and Raizo were not the first time those two souls have found each other. She just prayed that now they had more luck than in other lives. "It could be worse"

"How?"

"War, dear cousin, war and loveless marriage… that is worse"

-In the riverside-

"I knew you will be in here" Hashirama walked towards him, putting his arms around him. "What´s the matter? You would be fighting to escape me by now. I´m glad you are not doing that, but it´s strange."

"Don´t be so cheeky, I´m only allowing you to hold me because you just recovered your body from Hotaru the creepy" he spoke before sighing and slipping to the ground, along with Hashirama, who was hugging him. "I don´t want to end up like Raizo" he finally let out. "He was my past life, I´m sure of it now, and I really… I know I am not like him, but my people don´t think of me the same as before and…"

"Shhhhh, it´s okay" the brunette answered. "My love" he confessed with just this words, making the other go stiff. "You are not going to end like Raizo… I´m not letting you end up like Raizo. Even if I have to be with you all the time for years, I won´t let you face a destiny like that. This time, I´m going to arrive in time."

"Do you remember?"

"Flashes, from the dreams" Hashirama announced. "But there is something I remember the most from those. The pain. The horrible pain from losing the only person I could ever love" he kissed his temple. "I know I´m not Hotaru and I don´t want to be he, especially because… I don´t want to feel that. And I don´t want to lose you."

"You won´t lose me…"

"That´s a promise, Madara, the promise I make to you this moment" he kissed him again. "No matter what, no matter who, I won´t lose you like Hotaru lost Raizo. And I won´t let you lose everything you ever cherished."

"You can´t influence my clan…"

"Oh, I can do wonders convincing other people" he kissed the Uchiha, now in his lips to shut him up, letting a hand snake down his clothing. "Don´t worry, by the end of the year they will love you again."

"Hummm…"

-The next month-

"Do I really have to do this?"

"Come on, love, you know I wouldn´t ask you if it wasn´t necessary" Hashirama said, planting a kiss on the raven´s temple. Madara continued frowning in discontent, staring at the half destroyed Uchiha compound storage. Hikaku began working on the repairs, but he broke his leg and couldn´t continue. Now the work was left to… "It´s just the ceiling, don´t be so melodramatic."

"Is this some kind of vengeance for making you clean your clan´s storage? Because you got the wrong person"

"I know, the real culprit is already nominated to be the victim next year" the brunette assured. "Don´t worry, it´s not going to take so much time. See? I already collected enough wood for you to reconstruct it."

"That? You didn´t collect it, you made it out of your body. Ridiculous, if you ask me, to give me the wood when with some hand signs you could have repaired the ceiling" Madara put the carpentry things back on his hands. "Do it yourself"

"I can´t, it´s an exercise to show your people how much you care for them" the raven stopped on his tracks and turned back. "Do as I say and show them, everything is going to get better"

"This better works, because if it doesn´t, then I´m hammering other kind of wood" the Uchiha said, putting a hammer on his lover´s tights. He got to work, advancing surprisingly quickly. Finished the first half, he went down to drink something and continue when his foot knocked something out of a shelf. It was an old katana… "Is this the Senju symbol?" he stared in curiosity at the half erased half visible symbol in the pommel. "What are you doing in here?"

"Madara! Are you okay?! I brought you some lunch!" Madara put it back in it´s place and slammed the door, trying to get the damn thing out of his mind. A damn thing that was somehow fami… NO! He didn´t want to open any can of worm he had left from a past live, nor again. Or did he? NO! Red miracle was going to stay… Wait, red miracle? "Madara, are you there?!"

"Yes, I´m coming!" he yelled back, promising to leave it behind. The least he needed was to reawaken something rotten when things were going to well! "I´m coming!"

How was it? It took me a lot of time, so I hope you liked it. Review!


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